AMHERST, N.Y. — After flying more than 9,000 miles from Australia to Buffalo, Georgia Woolley needed a minute.

"I tried to get in the wrong side of the car when the coaches picked me up from the airport," she told me after a practice. "That was different. We drive on the other side of the road."

On the court, Georgia adjusted in a heartbeat.

"She can score the basketball," said UB Assistant Coach Kristen Sharkey. "She’s super long, six-foot guard. She can play the point, the two, the three. We even might have to throw her in at some four."

What You Need To Know

  • Georgia Woolley is the latest Australian basketball player to commit to the UB women's team
  • The Bulls began recruiting Australians nearly a decade ago, when they struggled to attract Americans
  • Former UB Assistant Cherie Cordoba, an Australia native, began recruiting from her home country for UB

If you think Australians in Buffalo are out of place, think again — UB has recruited them for almost a decade. Former UB Assistant Cherie Cordoba was the first to reach out to her home country, opening the Australia-Buffalo pipeline when Buffalo's Women's Basketball program struggled to recruit Americans.

"The AD there wanted 15 on scholarship," she remembered. "I think 15’s a lot, and I shared that. Same with Coach [Felisha Legette] Jack."

Cordoba knew Australia well; she grew up there and played professionally there. The relationships she built help land recruits.

"Stephanie [Reid] was coached by one of my best friend’s husbands. And he said, ‘hey, this kid’s pretty good!’"

Stephanie was one of four Australians to join the Bulls in 2014. Along with Courtney Wilkins, Katherine and Liisa Ups, the Bulls made two trips to the NCAA Tournament, and reached the Sweet 16 in 2018. Stephanie went back to Australia to play professionally after she graduated, and she ran smack into a young Australian that she thought could help her alma mater.

"She actually knew who Georgia was and just gave us that validation and a lot of confidence," said Sharkey. "‘Coach Jack - if you can get this kid, she has 25 points on me, and busted me out there on the court.'"

"Steph told me when she was here, the other Australians she played with and the successes everyone had had, and obviously you could see that from them being in the Sweet 16," said Woolley. "I don’t think it was something where I was like ‘oh, if they haven’t had Australians, I wouldn’t go there. But it did make it more comfortable."

Cordoba left UB for another assistant coach job two years ago. She was happy to usher in the Australia-UB connection, but now that she works at Wake Forest, Cordoba knows someone else has to keep that going. 

"I may have started that, but somebody has to continue that," she said. "They have to want to come."

"We keep making those steps in the NCAA Tournament, and winning basketball games there, it doesn’t matter where you’re at," said Sharkey. "As long as you have passion like Coach Jack, we can get those players that will run through a wall for her. Australians are those kinds of kids. They play hard, they play smart and they’re tough. And those are the ones Coach Jack can get the best out of."

And if Georgia plays well, she’ll probably inspire more Australians to fly north to Buffalo.